Rearview mirror assembly incorporating electrical accessories

ABSTRACT

A rearview mirror assembly incorporating one or more vehicle information displays includes an information display area in a portion of the rearview mirror housing which is at an angle to the plane of the reflective mirror element to provide improved visibility of the display by a front seat passenger. The information display can be provided in either the chin or eyebrow area of the rearview mirror housing, in the end of the mirror housing, or, alternately, in the field of view of the reflective mirror element itself or as a combination thereof. Such rearview mirror assemblies can be used in combination with a rearview mirror support and information display assembly including a rigid mirror stay preferably having a mirror support for independently adjustably mounting the rearview mirror assembly, and may also include a breakaway mount which releasably couples the stay and the supported rearview mirror assembly to a windshield mounted button or a header mounted base such that the entire assembly is released upon impact. The information display is especially useful to provide the operational status of the Passenger Side Inflatable Restraint (PSIR) or air bag.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/025,712, filed Feb. 18, 1998, entitled REARVIEWMIRROR SUPPORT INCORPORATING VEHICLE INFORMATION DISPLAY, the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to rearview mirror assemblies, and, moreparticularly, to a support for an independently adjustable rearviewmirror for use in vehicles incorporating a display for information suchas passenger air bag enable/disable status, as well as to rearviewmirrors useful either with such supports or other supports and alsoincorporating vehicle information displays.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Conventional passenger and cargo vehicles typically provideinformation concerning operation of the vehicle as well as time, outsidetemperature and other ancillary electronic displays in the instrumentpanel directly in front of the vehicle operator. Clocks, radios, CDplayers and the like are often located in the panel next to the driverfor more convenient viewing and use by the other passengers. Viewing ofone or more of the displays or gauges in the panel requires shifting ofthe driver's or passenger's eyes down to the panel from the view throughthe front windshield. The shift or redirection of the line of the sightfrom the road to the vehicle interior also requires refocusing of theviewer's eyes on the particular gauge or display. Such distraction canresult in accident or injury, especially if the vehicle operator ispresented with an emergency situation during such viewing. Also, adriver may not notice illumination of a critical warning displayrelating to occupant safety or vehicle operation (such as of disablementof a passenger air bag) when the display is located in the instrumentpanel due to the information clutter caused by the great number of otherdisplays commonly found in the instrument panel.

[0004] Perhaps in recognition of these information display viewingproblems, automobile and truck manufacturers have placed information indisplays in consoles attached to the headliner of the vehicle above thefront windshield. However, reference to the information in such consolesalso requires a redirection of the viewer's line of sight from the roadtoward the vehicle roof. Such redirection is even more pronounced incab-forward automobile designs in which the head position of the vehicleoperator is moved forward with respect to the windshield/headlinerboundary such that the displays in the headliner mounted consoles areeven more difficult to view.

[0005] Other types of information displays have been provided directlyin, or attached to, the interior rearview mirror assembly of thevehicle. These include displays located within the mirror case butbehind the mirror element which, of necessity, are limited in size so asnot to interfere with the viewing area of the mirror itself. In others,an information display was mounted in the rim or edge of the rearviewmirror case (such as in a bezel, lip or eyebrow portion) so as to avoidinterference with the field of view of the mirror. However, the formertype of through-the-reflective element display must be made integralwith the reflective element in the mirror housing, and the latter typerequire that the mirror case is specifically designed for receipt of thedisplay. The combined mirror and display in such constructions is alsoheavier than conventional mirrors resulting in increased vibration oroscillation and reduced quality images in the mirror surface. Inaddition, vehicle information display modules have been provided inhousings removably attached to the rearview mirror support structure(such as in windshield button mounted units) such that with theirdisplays are viewable by occupants of the vehicle.

[0006] Many of the above described information displays, and especiallythose provided in or attached to the interior rearview mirror of thevehicle, are primarily intended to provide information to the vehicledriver. In certain situations, however, it is important to provideinformation to the passenger or passengers in the vehicle and,particularly, the front seat passengers. An example is informationconcerning the operability of the Passenger Supplemental InflatableRestraint (PSIR) system or air bag on the passenger side of the vehicle.Recent vehicle regulations allow control of the operation of a passengerside air bag system such that it may be switched off and disabled toprevent injuries when children are riding in the front passenger seat.It is important to allow the person in that front passenger seat to knowwhether the air bag system is operative or not. However, depending onthe size of the passenger, and the seat position with respect to theposition of the interior rearview mirror assembly, information displaysprimarily intended for reading by the vehicle driver may be difficult tosee or read by smaller size passengers with the seat moved to its farforward position. Accordingly, there is also a need to provideinformation displays which are easily readable by front seat passengersregardless of the adjusted position of the interior rearview mirrorassembly being used by the vehicle driver such that informationimportant to that passenger can be provided.

[0007] In recognition of the above, the present invention was devised toprovide for a vehicle rearview mirror support which would besubstantially hidden from view by the vehicle occupants behind therearview mirror housing but include an attachment to the vehicle and aconnection allowing adjustment of the mirror position (such as a pivot)to accommodate various sizes of drivers, while having a display forinformation which avoids obstruction of the primary viewing zone of thevehicle operator through the front windshield but is visible adjacent,and preferably at the edge of, the rearview mirror housing. The supportwould require minimal vision shifting for conveying the displayedinformation to the vehicle operator while operating the vehicle, wouldalert vehicle occupants to critical and other vehicle pertinentinformation without confusion with other information displays, wouldprovide improved vibration performance and clearer images in therearview mirror itself, would house various vehicle accessories, andwould meet governmental safety requirements for breakaway separation ofobjects in the vehicle cabin.

[0008] In addition, the present invention also provides for thepositioning of information displays readable by vehicle occupants otherthan the vehicle driver, and especially front seat passengers of asmaller size when the front seat is positioned in its far forwardposition. Such displays provide important information for the vehicleoccupants other than the driver and may be combined with the support ofthe present invention such that important information can besimultaneously provided to both the vehicle driver and remaining vehicleoccupants including a front seat passenger.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention provides a rearview mirror support assemblyincorporating a mirror stay providing support, preferably a pivotsupport, for an independently adjustable rearview mirror, a mount forattachment to a windshield mounted button or header mounted base whichreleasably couples the assembly to the vehicle for breakaway releaseupon impact such as during an accident, and an information displayassembly for vehicles wherein information is displayed by an informationdisplay element to the vehicle operator and other occupants at alocation adjacent to the viewing position of the rearview mirror, andpreferably, at a position above the rearview mirror.

[0010] In certain vehicles including cab-forward designs, the presentsupport and display can be positioned lower and within the driver's lineof sight without obstructing the field of view. The information displayis also distinct from other vehicle displays, such as on a headerconsole.

[0011] Preferably, the information display is provided in a housing,more preferably a removable housing, which substantially conceals theelectronics for the display element and the wiring for connecting therearview mirror support and information display assembly to the vehicleelectrical system while also providing electrical power to anyelectrically operated, added feature rearview mirrors which may besupported on the assembly.

[0012] In one form, the invention provides a rearview mirror support andinformation display assembly for vehicles including a mirror stay havinga mount for mounting the stay within the interior of a vehicle and amirror support for engaging and supporting a rearview mirror in viewingposition for viewing by at least the driver of the vehicle. The assemblyalso includes an information display for displaying information visibleto an occupant within the vehicle in which the assembly is mounted. Themirror stay and mirror support have portions concealed from view by thevehicle occupant by the rearview mirror when supported on the mirrorsupport. The assembly projects from behind the rearview mirror such thatsaid information display is positioned adjacent the rearview mirror whensupported thereon such that said information display is viewable by thevehicle occupant.

[0013] Preferably, the information display element is an emittingdisplay. In one embodiment, the information display element comprises apanel with differentially light transmitting and/or spectrally absorbingregions, the panel being backlit by a light source so that informationis displayed by light transmission and/or spectral absorption at saidregion. The information is displayed as illuminated indicia such asilluminated tell tales, illuminated text, illuminated icons and the likeby such panel and is preferably contrasted to the ambient light aroundthe assembly. The light source is preferably concealed by a housingextending over a portion of the mirror stay, which housing may bereleasably attached to allow for servicing. An electrical circuitconnected to the light source may also be provided along with electricalwiring for connection to an electrically operated rearview mirror whensupported on the mirror support and/or for connection to the electricalsystem of the vehicle in which the assembly is mounted. Preferably, thehousing includes portions which conceal major segments of the electricalwiring from view by the vehicle occupants. In addition, it is preferredthat a significant portion of the housing is concealed from view by thevehicle operator by the rearview mirror such that the housing extendsoutwardly from the mirror stay from a position behind and to the rear ofthe rearview mirror. Other preferred emitting information displaysinclude vacuum fluorescent displays, electroluminescent displays, lightemitting diode displays, cathode ray tube displays and the like.

[0014] In one form of the invention, the display element may includeindicia thereon which are not visible until backlit by the light source.A preferred light source is a light emitting diode.

[0015] Non-emitting, passive display elements such as liquid crystaldisplays, including backlit liquid crystal displays, may also be used aswell as other types of non-emitting displays. A variety of informationdisplay types may be formed such as multi-pixel displays, scrollingdisplays, reconfigurable displays and tell tales, all including varyingtypes of wording, symbols, text or icons.

[0016] In another form of the invention, the electrical circuit includesa photo sensor which receives ambient light adjacent the assembly andcontrols the brightness of the light output from the light source inrelation to the ambient light level adjacent to the information displayor controls the intensity of an emitting display, such as of a vacuumfluorescent or LED digit, in proportion to the intensity of ambientlight detected. Alternately, the light emitting intensity of the lightemitting display can be slaved to the instrument panel lighting orcontrolled by a photo sensor in another part of the vehicle such as inan electro-optic rearview mirror, more preferably an automaticelectrochromic mirror, twilight headlight sentinel or the like.Self-announcing, audible signals or strobes can also be used with theinformation display of the present invention.

[0017] Preferably, the present invention incorporates a support foradjustably supporting the rearview mirror adjacent to and, morepreferably, below the information display and in viewing position forthe vehicle operator. Alternately, the rearview mirror may be above theinformation display. In one form, such support is a ball pivot memberextending outwardly from the mirror stay to allow adjustment of themirror position independent from the information display. Otheradjustable supports can also be used.

[0018] It is also preferred that the entire assembly including mirrorstay, mirror support and information display, be releasably coupled to amounting member on the vehicle such as a windshield mounted button or aheader mounted base. The releasable coupling is adapted to release theentire assembly from the button or base when impacted such as during anaccident to prevent injury. Various types of releasable couplings can beused such as spring clips and retainers, or resilient retaining flanges.

[0019] In other aspects of the invention, an rearview mirror assembly isprovided which is useful either with the above-mentioned supportassembly of the present invention as well as with other interiorrearview mirror supports. The rearview mirror assembly has a rearviewmirror and a support for mounting the assembly on a vehicle. Therearview mirror has a driver side end and a passenger side end. Thedriver side end is adapted to be closer to the position of the vehicledriver when the assembly is mounted in a vehicle on the support. Thepassenger side end is adapted to be closer to the position of a frontseat passenger in the vehicle when the assembly is mounted in thevehicle on the support. The rearview mirror also includes a reflectivemirror element which has a front surface lying in a mirror plane andfaces the interior of the vehicle, and a housing for the mirror element,the housing being adjustably mounted to the support and including a backportion facing away from the vehicle interior, end portions, and a frontportion facing the vehicle interior. The assembly also includes aninformation display which provides information to an occupant of thevehicle. The display has a display plane which is at an angle to themirror plane to provide improved visibility of the display by a frontseat passenger in the vehicle when the assembly is mounted on thevehicle.

[0020] In other aspects, the information display may project outwardlyfrom the peripheral edge of the mirror housing toward the front seatpassenger, or may be recessed within the mirror housing, either versionbeing at a position above or below the reflective mirror element. Thedisplay may also be formed in the end of the mirror housing.Alternately, a display area may be provided within the field of thereflective mirror element itself and may be backlit with appropriatelight sources such as light emitting diodes. In other forms, therearview mirror assembly may include an information display within thefield of the reflective mirror element, in addition to an informationdisplay in the peripheral edge or end of the mirror housing.

[0021] Advantages provided by this invention include adjustable supportof a rearview mirror while providing information adjacent to therearview mirror within the vehicle and visible by the vehicle operatorand other vehicle occupants without obstructing the vehicle operator'snormal field of view and without requiring major shift in the vehicleoperator's line of sight to maintain adequate safety, the displaypreferably remaining fixed while the rearview mirror is adjusted aboutits pivot attachment to the support so that the driver can select thefield of view for the reflective element housed within the rearviewmirror independent of the viewing angle of the display attached to themirror support and information support assembly. The combined mirrorstay, support and information display is compact, light in weight andeasily adaptable for attachment to the vehicle within the vehicledriver's line of sight, either by a windshield mounted button or aheader mounted base. The information display is provided in anunobtrusive but easily readable format immediately adjacent the rearviewmirror and can be provided with various types of emitting displays,audible signals or the like or passive displays. The electricalcircuitry for the display is, preferably, substantially concealed as isthe electrical wiring for connection of the assembly to the vehicleelectrical system while also optionally providing concealed wiring foroperation of electrically operated rearview mirrors includingelectro-optic mirrors, lighted mirrors and the like. In addition, thepresent information display can be coordinated easily with the remaininginstruments and displays within the vehicle for automatic or manualoperation or with intensity coordinated to the ambient lighting aroundthe display and rearview mirror or in relation to the lighting on theinstrument panel. In addition, inclusion of the electronics within thehousing attached to the mirror stay allows for easy removal forservicing and positions the weight of the circuitry separately from therearview mirror, thereby reducing vibration and oscillation andincreasing visual clarity of the images in the mirror.

[0022] Additional advantages include the provision of an informationdisplay on the rearview mirror assembly adapted for ease of viewing andreading by a front seat passenger. Alternately, information displays canbe included in the field of the reflective mirror element or on theperipheral edge of the mirror housing for the rearview mirror assembly,either separately from or in conjunction with the information displayprovided on the mirror support of the present invention.

[0023] These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of theinvention will become more apparent from a study of the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the rearview mirror supportand information display assembly for vehicles of the present inventionshowing an interior rearview mirror assembly in viewing position on thefront windshield of a vehicle with the information display below therearview mirror;

[0025]FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the rearview mirror supportand information display assembly of the present invention;

[0026]FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the assembly FIG. 2;

[0027]FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the assembly of FIGS. 2 and 3;

[0028]FIG. 5 is a right-side elevation of the assembly of FIGS. 2-4;

[0029]FIG. 6 is a left-side elevation of the assembly of FIGS. 2-4;

[0030]FIG. 7 is an exploded, perspective view taken from the top of theassembly of FIGS. 2-6;

[0031]FIG. 8 is an exploded, perspective view taken from the bottom ofthe assembly of FIGS. 2-6;

[0032]FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of the assembly of FIGS. 2-8 whensupporting a rearview mirror on a windshield mounted button and takenalone plane IX-IX of FIG. 1;

[0033]FIG. 9A is a plan view of a preferred windshield mounted buttonfor mounting the present invention on a vehicle;

[0034]FIG. 9B is a bottom end view of the windshield mounted button ofFIG. 9A;

[0035]FIG. 10 is an exploded, side view shown partially in section of asecond embodiment of the rearview mirror support and information displayassembly for vehicles of the present invention;

[0036]FIG. 11 is a side elevation of the mirror stay of the assembly ofFIG. 10;

[0037]FIG. 12 is a front elevation of the mirror stay of the assembly ofFIG. 10;

[0038]FIG. 13 is a front elevation of the information display housing ofthe assembly of FIG. 10; and

[0039]FIG. 14 is a top plan view of the information display housing ofthe assembly of FIG. 10.

[0040]FIG. 15 is a side elevation shown partially in section of a thirdembodiment of the rearview mirror support and information displayassembly for vehicles which also incorporates a rearview mirror assemblyhaving various electrical and/or electronic components as well as aninformation display therein;

[0041]FIG. 16 is a schematic plan view of a vehicle incorporating aninterior rearview mirror assembly positioned at an angle to the centerline of the vehicle for viewing by the driver;

[0042]FIG. 17 is a schematic plan view of an interior rearview mirrorassembly showing the typical range of adjustment angles for viewing byvarious size vehicle drivers;

[0043]FIG. 18 is a perspective front view of a rearview mirror assemblyof the present invention incorporating an information display extendingtoward the passenger side end of the assembly at an angle to the mirrorplane, as well as an information display in the field of the reflectivemirror element;

[0044]FIG. 19 is a fragmentary bottom perspective view of theinformation display area of the rearview mirror assembly of FIG. 18;

[0045]FIG. 20 is a sectional plan view of the rearview mirror assemblytaken along plane XX-XX of FIG. 18 illustrating the information displayarea facing more toward the passenger side end of the assembly;

[0046]FIG. 20A is a fragmentary, sectional plan view of the rearviewmirror assembly taken along plane XXA-XXA of FIG. 18 illustrating theinformation display area;

[0047]FIG. 20B is a sectional plan view of a rearview mirror assembly ofFIG. 18 but showing the information display area extending at differentangles toward the passenger side end;

[0048]FIG. 21 is a perspective front view of another embodiment of therearview mirror assembly of the present invention incorporating aninformation display area in the eyebrow portion of the mirror housing;

[0049]FIG. 22 is a fragmentary perspective view of yet anotherembodiment of the rearview mirror assembly of the present inventionincorporating an information display in an end surface of the mirrorassembly;

[0050]FIG. 23 is a fragmentary front perspective view of a rearviewmirror assembly incorporating another embodiment of an informationdisplay extending toward the passenger side end of the assembly butrecessed within the mirror housing;

[0051]FIG. 24 is a sectional plan view of the rearview mirror assemblytaken along plane XXIV-XXIV of FIG. 23;

[0052]FIG. 25 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of therearview mirror assembly incorporating an information display in thefield of the reflective mirror element;

[0053]FIG. 26 is a fragmentary, sectional plan view of the rearviewmirror assembly taken along plane XXVI-XXVI of FIG. 25;

[0054]FIG. 27 is a front perspective view of a rearview mirror assemblyof the present invention incorporating yet another embodiment of aninformation display in a portion of the mirror housing below thereflective mirror element along with a separate information display inthe field of the reflective mirror element;

[0055]FIG. 28 is a front perspective view of a further embodiment of therearview mirror assembly of the present invention incorporatinginformation display areas in the mirror housing below the reflectivemirror element and within the field of the reflective mirror element;and

[0056]FIG. 29 is a front perspective view of a yet further embodiment ofthe rearview mirror assembly of the present invention incorporating aninformation display area in the field of the reflective mirror elementimmediately above the lower peripheral edge of the mirror housing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0057] Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, FIG. 1illustrates a first embodiment 10 of the unitary rearview mirror supportand information display assembly for vehicles of the present invention.Assembly 10 is adapted to be releasably secured or coupled to the frontwindshield W of a vehicle below the headliner/header section of theinterior roof in position for viewing of a rearview mirror 12 supportedon assembly 10. Rearview mirror 12 comprises a reflective mirror element12 a housed in a mirror housing 12 b. As shown in FIGS. 29, assembly 10includes a rigid mirror stay 14 preferably formed from die cast zinc andan extending, mirror support ball pivot member 16 formed in one piecewith the mirror stay on neck 18 at the lower end of the mirror stay.Rearview mirror 12 pivots about ball member 16. A housing 20, preferablyhaving its contour matched to a portion of the mirror stay 14, ispreferably removably fitted to the mirror stay, and includes aninformation display area 22 having a display element 24 for conveyinginformation to the vehicle operator and other occupants of the vehicleinterior. As is explained more fully below, housing 20 also includeselectrical circuitry for operation of the display 22, which circuitryincludes electrical wiring 26 and connector 28 for connecting theinformation display to the electrical system of the vehicle in which theassembly is mounted. In addition, the electrical circuitry includeselectrical wiring 30 including a connector 32 providing electricalservice from the vehicle to the rearview mirror assembly 12 which may beelectrically operated as explained below. The entire assembly 10 isadapted for mounting to the inside surface of front windshield W bymeans of a windshield mounted button B (FIGS. 9, 9A and 9B) previouslyadhered to that surface.

[0058] The present invention is useful with a wide variety of interiorrearview mirrors including manually-operated, prismatic day/nightmirrors such as that shown in FIG. 9 and described in U.S. Pat. No.4,948,242, as well as electrically-operated, compass mirrors such asthat described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,109, or electrically-operatedinterior rearview mirrors incorporating map/reading lights such as thosedescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,646,210; 4,733,336; 4,807,096; 5,178,448;5,669,698; 5,671,996; and copending, commonly assigned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/918,772, filed Aug. 25, 1997, to DeLine et al.,the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein;electrically-operated, automatically dimming mirrors such as thosedescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,793,690; 4,799,768; 4,886,960; and5,193,029; and electrically-operated memory interior rearview mirrors.The disclosures of each of the above listed U.S. patents and patentapplications is hereby incorporated by reference herein. The inventionis particularly advantageous when used in conjunction withelectrically-operated interior rearview mirrors integrally incorporatingfeatures including map lights, automatic dimming circuitry, etc., assuch features necessarily limit the space available within the mirrorcase cavity. For example, the present invention is useful in conjunctionwith electrochromic rearview mirror assemblies such as automatic dimmingrearview mirrors using an electrochromic mirror element of theelectrochemichromic type as the variable, light transmitting element.Suitable electrochromic elements are described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,151,816; 5,142,407; 5,140,455; and in U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/824,501, filed Mar. 27, 1997, to Varaprasad et al., the disclosuresof all of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Each ofthese electrically-operated mirror assemblies is conveniently connectedto the electrical system of the vehicle in which the present inventionis mounted via the electrical wiring 26, 30 and connectors 28, 32mentioned above and more fully described below.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 1, the operator of the vehicle is positioned toview outwardly through windshield W and in position to view imagesreflected from the rear of the vehicle in the mirror element of mirrorassembly 12. Below the windshield and the position of assembly 10 andmirror 12 as shown in FIG. 1 is an instrument panel containing a varietyof conventional instruments and displays such as a speedometer,tachometer, voltage indicator, fuel gauge and oil pressure gauge, aswell as other instruments such as a clock, radio, audio tape/CD player;heater and air conditioning controls, and the like which may also beused by other occupants of the vehicle. Positioning of the informationdisplay 22 above the viewing position of mirror assembly 12 maintains anunobstructed view for the vehicle operator below the mirror assembly andabove the instrument panel.

[0060] As shown in FIGS. 2-9, mirror stay 14 of assembly 10 includes acurved, contoured body 40 having a thin but wide upper area 42 taperingto a narrower lower area 44. Upper area 42 extends at an angle to thelower area 44, preferably an angle of between about 60° and 120°, morepreferably between about 70° and 100°, and most preferably between about85°and 95°, as shown for assembly 10. When mounted as shown in FIG. 9,upper area 42 extends generally parallel to windshield W while lowerarea 44 extends downwardly away from the inside windshield surface to aposition suitable for supporting rearview mirror assembly 12 via ballpivot member 16. In such position, the center of mass of the rearviewmirror is substantially directly under windshield button B for vibrationstability. Upper portion 42 includes a top surface 46 having a mountingarea 48 for receiving a spring clip 50 and forming a mounting assembly150 for retaining the entire assembly on windshield mounted button B asis explained more fully below. Upper surface 46 curves and merges into arear surface 52 opposite the surface from which ball member 16 extends.The end of upper area 42 is defined by a peripheral edge 54 of generallyU-shaped configuration having curved end edges 56, 58 thereon. End edges56, 58 curve and merge into inwardly converging side edges 60, 62 whichextend downwardly and terminate at raised mirror support area 64 atlower end 44 and from which ball member 16 extends. Within edges 54, 56,58, 60, 62 is a hollow, recessed interior space 66 adapted to receive aportion of the electrical wiring 26, 30 forming a wire harness 140(FIGS. 7-9) as will be more fully explained hereinafter. Adjacent endedges 56, 58 are spaced locating flanges 68, 70 adapted to fit within,locate and position a display portion 82 of removably housing 20 asexplained below. Flanges 68, 70 have curved outer surfaces adapted tocorrespond to the curved inner surfaces of end walls 88, 90 of housing20. In addition, flange 70 has a recessed end surface 72 which engagesand traps an ambient light lens 116 fitted within housing 20 as isexplained below. A circular aperture 74 formed within the middle of body40 on the inner surface of upper portion 42 (FIG. 8) receives afastening screw 76 for attaching housing 20 to the mirror stay.

[0061] As is also seen in FIGS. 2-9, housing 20 includes a configuredbody 80 having a wide, laterally elongated display portion 82 matchingthe shape of end edges 54, 56, 58 of mirror stay 14, and a curved,downwardly depending skirt 84. Display portion 82 and skirt 84 arepreferably integrally molded in one piece from polycarbonate/acetalbutyl styrene blend (PC/ABS), or polypropylene, polystyrene or anothermelt-processible polymer. Display portion 82 includes top wall 86,curved end walls 88, 90 and bottom wall 92 from which front wall 94 ofskirt 84 extends continuously. Walls 86, 88, 90, 92 define an elongatedinterior space 96 (FIGS. 7 and 8) divided into smaller spaces orsegments by spaced interior walls 98, 100 which extend perpendicularlybetween top wall 86 and bottom wall 92. Extending outwardly anddownwardly along the inwardly converging edges of front wall 94 areperipheral side walls 102, 104 defining a tapered, hollow interior space106 on the inside surface of skirt 84. Front wall 94 includes a recess108 centered therein and through which a screw receiving aperture 110extends. At the lower end of recess 108 on the interior surface of frontwall 94 is an upstanding, elongated wall 112 providing a strain reliefflange for engaging the electrical wiring of wire harness 140 whenhousing 20 is assembled to mirror stay 14. At the rear edge of left endwall 88 of display portion 82 of housing 20 is a semi-circular,elongated recess 114 adapted to receive a transparent, generallycircular lens 116 therein to direct ambient light from the area adjacentassembly 10 to a photo sensor 148 mounted on the electrical circuit 142forming part of wire harness 140 as explained below. Lens 116 includes aseries of segments or flanges 118 at its inner end enabling the lens tobe snap fit into recess 114 and retained therein. A semi-circular recess120 is formed in the rear edge of top wall 86 through which electricalwire/cable 26 of wire harness 140 extends for connection to theelectrical system of the vehicle in which assembly 10 is mounted.Similarly, a semi-circular recess 122 is formed in the lower edge offront wall 94 of skirt 84 through which wire/cable 30 from harness 140extends forwardly to position connector 32 adjacent the rear surface ofrearview mirror assembly 12 for connection thereto.

[0062] At the front of display portion 82 of housing 20 is a displayelement 130. Display element 130 is preferably generally planar andformed from a polycarbonate sheet, and is preferably insert moldedwithin housing 20 when the housing is injection molded. Alternately,element 130 can be separately formed and include tabs 132 on either endadapted to fit within recesses or apertures formed on the insidesurfaces of ends 88, 90 of housing 20 for assembly after molding ofhousing 20. In either case, element 130 abuts against the coplanar edgesof interior walls 98, 100 which are recessed inwardly from theperipheral edge of display portion 82 (FIGS. 8 and 9).

[0063] Prior to mounting display element 130 within housing 20 in themanner described above, various indicia comprising alpha-numericdisplays or word, symbol or icon displays may be printed or formed onthe front or rear surface of the element as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. Suchwords, numerals, text, symbols, tell tales, icons or other indicia maybe differentially light transmitting and/or spectrally absorbing regionson element 130. Preferably, the front exposed surface of display element130 is unprinted, plain or “dead fronted,” and may be opaque or black incolor and have a desired texture thereon. Rear surface of element 130preferably includes various words, symbols, icons or other indiciaadapted to be visible at non-opaque regions of element 130, through thefront surface when backlit such as by light sources 144 provided oncircuit 142 included in wire harness 140 as described below.Accordingly, when backlit, such indicia are visible to both the vehicleoperator and any passengers or other occupants within the vehicle at theposition above the rearview mirror as shown in FIG. 1.

[0064] The display on element 130 may comprise a multi-pixel display,scrolling display, reconfigurable display, or tell tale formingvarieties of an emitting display formed with one or more light sourcesof the type described below. Alternately, indicia could be imprinted ona contrasting background on the exterior, front surface of displayelement 130 for visibility without backlighting or other illuminationand, thus, may comprise a passive display. Alternately, display element130 could be transparent.

[0065] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the preferred indicia display forassembly 10 relates to the operation and enablement of supplementaloccupant restraint systems, known as air bags, especially on thepassenger side. Recent governmental regulation changes allow disablementof passenger side air bags by the vehicle owner in certain situations.This display indicates to the vehicle occupants whether the passengerside air bag is enabled (on) or disabled/suppressed (off). Suchinformation display(s) serves as an indicator, and provides notificationto the driver and front outboard passenger whether the Passenger SideInflatable Restraint (frontal air bag and, in some cases, frontal andside air bags), referred to as PSIR, is/are active or suppressed. Theinformation display serves as a status indicator intended to notify thedriver and front outboard passenger of the state of the PSIR (enabled orsuppressed). The indicator receives the PSIR status from an automaticoccupant sensor and displays the PSIR status through the use of lightemitting diodes, tell tales, or the like. The status indicator can bepart of the vehicle Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) subsystem.Information display 22 can also present other displays and functionsrelated to vehicle operation, such as engine coolant temperature, oilpressure, fuel status, battery condition or voltage, cellular phoneoperation, E-Mail message receipt, compass display, time or the like.

[0066] Fitted within and between housing 20 and mirror stay 14 whenassembled together is a wiring harness 140 including electricalwires/cables 26, 30 and connectors 28, 32 mentioned above, as well as acircuit board 142 containing electronic/electrical circuitry foroperating the information display 22 and/or other functions in thesupported rearview mirror assembly or vehicle. Circuit board 142 isadapted to be mounted on the rear edges of interior walls 98, 100 bymeans of projecting tabs 99, 101 received in openings 146 formed incircuit board 142. Tabs 99, 101 may then be heat staked or formed overto retain the circuit board in place without vibration. Circuit board142 preferably includes a series of emitting elements or light sources144 mounted at spaced positions on its front surface. Preferably,emitting sources 144 are light emitting diodes (LEDs) adapted to providebacklighting of display element 130 when the circuit board 142 ispositioned on the rear edges of interior walls 98, 100. A preferredlight emitting diode is a NICHIA white light emitting diode availablefrom Nichia Chemical Industries of Tokyo, Japan, under Model Nos. NSPW300AS, NSPW 500S, NSPW 310AS, NSPW 315AS, NSPW 510S, NSPW 515S, and NSPWWF50S, and provides low level, non-incandescent, white light forilluminating the indicia on display element 130. Such white lightemitting diodes preferably emit light with color when measured on suchas the ICI Chromaticity Diagram with an x color coordinate in the rangefrom about 0.2 to about 0.4, and a y color coordinate in the range fromabout 0.25 to about 0.425, more preferably, an x color coordinate in therange from about 0.25 to about 0.35, and a y color coordinate in therange from about 0.25 to about 0.4, most preferably, an x colorcoordinate of about 0.3±0.06 and a y color coordinate of about0.32±0.08. Other LEDs providing light in colors other than white, suchas amber or red, may also be used. Preferably, light emitting diodesources 144 a and 144 b are connected to operate at all times during theoperation of the vehicle so as to continuously illuminate the words“passenger air bag.” The remaining two LEDs 144 c, 144 d are alignedwith the words “off” and “on,” respectively, and provide backlightingfor those words individually. LED 144 c or 144 d is selectively operatedto illuminate the status of the air bag, either off (disabled) or on(enabled). Interior walls 98, 100 are spaced off center within thehollow interior 96 of display portion 82 of housing 20 so as to directlight from LEDs 144 c and 144 d to those words respectively at one endof the display element.

[0067] Alternately, other emitting elements can be used to displayinformation (including alpha-numerical information) such as incandescentdisplays, vacuum fluorescent displays, electroluminescent displays,light emitting diode displays, or cathode ray tube displays. The variousdisplays useful in this invention can also be reconfigurable so thatcertain critical alpha-numeric or symbolic information, icons or otherindicia will override or supplant normal, primary information for aselected period of time such as for a traffic warning, vehicle blindspot presence detection, engine operation change or deficiency, compassheading change, incoming cellular phone call or the like.

[0068] Another display useful in place of the printed or formed indiciaon element 130, or adjacent to element 130, in the event that element istransparent, is a passive or non-emitting liquid crystal display whichcan also be backlit by emitting light sources such as LEDs 144 describedabove.

[0069] Also included on circuit board 142 in addition to the normalelectrical circuitry components such as resistors and capacitors is aphoto sensor 148 which extends parallel to circuit board 142 andtransverse to the axes of LEDs 144. When circuit board 142 is mountedwithin display portion 82 of housing 20 on interior walls 98, 100 asdescribed above, photo sensor 148 will be axially aligned withcylindrical lens 116 so that ambient light adjacent the assembly 10 isdirected and focused on photo sensor 148. Photo sensor 148, which ispreferably a VT 900 Series cadmium sulfide photo cell available from EG& G Vactec of St. Louis, Mo., in conjunction with the remainingcircuitry on circuit board 142, is adapted to control the intensity ofthe light emitted from light sources 144 in relation to the ambientlight around the assembly 10. Alternately, an L-32P3 photo transistor,available from King Bright Ltd. of City of Industry, Calif., could alsobe used as photo sensor 148. Thus, a high ambient light level is sensedby photo sensor 148 and the circuitry increases the electrical currentapplied to LEDs 144 such that the backlit display will be brighter andconsequently more easily visible at such high light level periods. Atnight or other low ambient light level periods, the amount of currentapplied to LEDs 144 is reduced so as to coordinate the illumination ofdisplay 22 to the surrounding conditions while maintaining visibility ofthe information displayed. Alternately, photo sensor 148 need not beincluded and the intensity or brightness of the information display 22can be operated in tandem with the lighting intensity for theinstruments on the instrument panel in the vehicle or slaved off theswitching and dimming circuitry or rheostat for such instruments.Likewise, should the use of a photo sensor be desired, a photo sensor onanother part of the vehicle such as in an electro-optic rearview mirrorsupported by assembly 10 can be connected to the emitting sources 144through appropriate circuitry to control their intensity in relation tothe ambient light level. Such a remotely located photo sensor could alsobe located in another area of the vehicle for a system such as in atwilight headlight sentinel which automatically switches the vehicleheadlamps on/off at dusk/dawn.

[0070] In addition, the circuitry included on circuit board 142 may alsoshare components and provide circuitry for the electrical components inthe electrically operated mirror supported by assembly 10 so as toeliminate the need for mounting such circuitry within the rearviewmirror assembly itself. This helps reduce the vibration response of suchlightened mirror and provides clearer images visible thereon.

[0071] The passenger side air bag on/off signal may be derived fromvarious types of seat occupancy detectors such as by video surveillanceof the passenger seat as disclosed in copending, commonly-assigned U.S.patent application Serial No. PCT/US94/01954, filed Feb. 25, 1994, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, or byultrasonic or sonar detection, infrared sensing, pyrodetection, weightdetection, or the like. Alternately, enablement/displayment of thepassenger side air bag operation can be controlled manually such asthrough a user operated switch operated with the ignition key of thevehicle in which assembly 10 is mounted as described in co-pending,commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/799,734, filedFeb. 12, 1997, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference herein. Optionally, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 5 and 8, a switch149 adapted for operation solely by the ignition key which fits theignition switch of the vehicle in which assembly 10 is mounted may bemounted in housing 20 such as in end wall 90 or at another location onthe assembly. Switch 149 is connected through circuit board 142 or wireharness 140 to the passenger side air bag and also provides manualcontrol over operation of that air bag by the owner or user of thevehicle. Alternately, switch 149 can be user operated by other than thevehicle ignition key.

[0072] In addition to the status of the operation of the passenger sideair bag, other vehicle functions or information can be displayed oninformation display 22 as mentioned above including engine coolanttemperature, oil pressure, compass direction, tire pressure, fuelstatus, voltage, time, outside temperature or the like. Such informationcan be displayed simultaneously with the passenger side air baginformation such as through an appropriate switch, or displayed ininterrupted fashion and/or overridden so as to warn the vehicle operatorwhen the engine is first started. In addition, self-announcing displayscan be incorporated in information display 22 in order to be noticedwhen the ignition switch for the vehicle is turned to the “accessory on”position. Such self-announcing displays can include strobe orintermittently operated light sources and/or emitting display elements,or audible signals adapted to sound for a time period of between abouttwo seconds to one minute or longer after which the display reverts toits normal illuminated condition.

[0073] In addition, housing 20 may be formed with a blank panel in placeof display element 130 in order to conceal and position the electricalwiring/cable from a wire harness designed to provide electricalconnection from the vehicle electrical system to an electricallyoperated rearview mirror mounted on the mirror support ball member 16.In such case, housing 20 only performs a wire cover/concealmentfunction.

[0074] As is best seen in FIGS. 3 and 5-7, assembly 10 is releasablymounted for breakaway separation from the windshield mounted retainer orbutton B by means of a resilient, breakaway mounting system 150 atmounting area 48. Mounting assembly 150 preferably is of the typedisclosed in co-pending, commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser.No. 08/781,408, filed Jan. 10, 1997, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein. Mounting assembly 150 includes aperipheral wall 152 outlining a rectangular retainer receiving area 154,a central button support 156 and spaced lateral button supports 158 a,158 b. A resilient spring clip 50 formed from spring metal is receivedin retainer receiving area 154 and secured therein by means of retainingflanges 160 fitted under a shoulder on the interior of wall 152. Acentral aperture 162 is interference fitted over button support 156,while upstanding, resilient flanges 164 and resilient end flange 166extend outwardly for engagement with windshield mounted button B asshown in FIG. 9.

[0075] As shown in FIGS. 9, 9A and 9B, windshield mounted button B is ofthe type including a peripheral edge 170 having inwardly converging orangled side edges 172, 174 which taper inwardly from the outermostmounting surface 176 which engages the button supports 156, 158 to thesmaller attachment surface 178 engaging the inside windshield surface,and a curved edge 180 which extends from one side edge to the other sideedge and along the curved top end 182. Curved edge 180 is angledinwardly for its full extent as are the side edges. Side edges 172, 174converge toward one another as they extend toward top end 182 andprovide the button B with an overall double tapered shape. In addition,button B includes a recess 184 in its lower end surface 186 which isspaced from attachment surface 178 for receipt of the resilient endflange 166. When spring clip 50 is mounted on mounting area 48 toprovide the mounting assembly 150 in the above manner, resilient flanges164 and resilient end flange 166 engage edge 180 and recess 184 ofwindshield button B at spaced positions and center the buttontherebetween and hold the button against button supports 156, 158.However, when assembly 10 is subjected to an impact force, flanges 164and end flange 166 flex to release the assembly from the button toprevent injury.

[0076] Accordingly, assembly of housing 20 to mirror stay 14 will now beunderstood. Mirror stay 14 may be provided with a manual orelectrically-operated rearview mirror assembly 12 as described above andwith spring clip 50 received in mounting area 48 as shown in FIG. 9.Similarly, housing 20 may be fitted with wire harness 140 such thatcircuit board 142 is aligned within the rear of the opening to displayportion 82 with tabs 99, 100 fitted within openings 146 and formed overto retain the circuit board in place. In this position, photo sensor 148is aligned with lens 116 previously positioned in aperture 114 ofhousing 20. LEDs 144 A, 144 b are aligned between interior wall 100 andend wall 90, LED 144 c is aligned between interior walls 98, 100, andLED 144 d is aligned between end wall 88 and interior wall 98.Electrical wiring 26 is positioned within recess 120. Electrical wiring30 is positioned on one side or the other of recess 108 within space 106and extends out through recess 122 at the lower end of skirt 84.Thereafter, housing 22 is aligned with mirror stay 14 such that locatingflanges 68, 72 are positioned adjacent the interior surfaces of endwalls 88, 90 and surface 72 is aligned with the side of lens 116. Thehousing and mirror stay are then moved toward one another such thatedges 102, 104 are received on edges 60, 62 and threaded screw 176 orother fastener is passed through aperture 110 into aperture 74 in themirror stay to secure the housing in place and form a unitary supportassembly with the mirror stay. The edges of the housing and mirror staymate and are flush with one another. After assembly, electrical wiring30 and connector 32 project toward the rearview mirror assembly forconnection thereto from the lower end of assembly 10, while electricalwiring 26 and connector 28 project from the top surface of the assemblyfor connection to the vehicle electrical system at the headliner/headerarea of the vehicle above the windshield. The assembly may then besnapped onto previously positioned windshield button B for retentionthereon in position for viewing by the vehicle operator in the mannerdescribed in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/781,408, andconnector 28 may be engaged with the vehicle electrical system toprovide electrical power for the information display 22 and theelectrically-operated mirror assembly 12. In this position, lower area64 and a significant portion of the remainder of assembly 10 isconcealed from view of the vehicle driver and at least some of thevehicle occupants by rearview mirror 12 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 9.

[0077] Rearview mirror assembly 12 is independently adjustable of theposition of mirror stay 14 and housing 20 when assembly 10 is mounted onwindshield mounted button B. Rearview mirror 12 includes a generallyspherical socket received over ball member 16 such that assembly 12 maybe pivoted in a universal manner while wiring 30 flexes to allow suchmovement. Thus, the rearview mirror assembly may be positioned to theindividual needs of the various operators/drivers of the vehicle, whiledisplay element 130 remains independently, and preferably fixedly,positioned immediately adjacent, and preferably above, the rearviewmirror assembly for viewing by all such drivers. Alternately, ball pivotmember 16 could be a double ball pivot assembly or a mount for attachinga channel mount and an associated support assembly for a rearview mirrorassembly as show and described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos.5,100,095 and 4,930,742, the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference herein. It is within the scope of thisinvention to configure the mirror stay and information display such thatthe display element is positioned immediately adjacent bottom, side orother portions of the rearview mirror while the display remains visibleto vehicle occupants. In the event of an accident, impact against eitherrearview mirror assembly 12 or any portion of assembly 10 allows releaseand separation of the entire assembly and supported rearview mirrorassembly from windshield mounted button B by means of mounting assembly150 as described above.

[0078] With reference FIGS. 10-14, a second embodiment 200 of therearview mirror support and information display assembly for vehicles isshown. Assembly 200 is similar to assembly 10 and is adapted to supporta rearview mirror assembly for independent adjustment by means of arigid mirror stay 202 having an extending spherical ball member 204thereon for receipt of a rearview mirror assembly. A housing 206 isremovably secured over mirror stay 202 by means of a threaded fastener208 and encloses and conceals at least a portion of wire harness 140therewithin. However, rather than being releasably coupled to awindshield mounted button as in assembly 10, assembly 200 is adapted forreleasable coupling to a header mounted base 214 as is more fullydescribed hereinafter.

[0079] As is best seen in FIGS. 11 and 12, rigid mirror stay 202includes a curved body 220 extending from a lower rearview mirrormounting area 222, from which ball member 204 extends on the forwardside thereof, to an upper header mounting area 224. The front side 223of mirror stay body 220, which faces the interior of the vehicle and thevehicle occupants, includes a recessed area 226 in which is formed anaperture 228 for receiving fastening screw 208 to secure housing 206thereto and a raised, projecting housing mounting area 230. Upper headermounting area 224 includes a mounting recess 232 which receives aflanged spring washer or clip 236 and threaded aperture 234 whichreceives a headed retainer or fastening screw 238 coupling the mirrorstay to the base member 214 for releasable breakaway separation uponimpact in the manner described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,095, incorporatedby reference above. Flanged washer 236 is received in shoulderedaperture 240 of base member 214 such that flanges 237 project downwardlythrough the aperture and into aperture 232 of the mirror stay. A headedscrew 238 is inserted through the aperture formed by spring flanges 237,through aperture 240 and into threaded aperture 234 in mirror stay 202.Thereafter, base 214, which is wider than header mounting area 224, issecured to the vehicle roof adjacent the top edge of the frontwindshield by screws 241 such that the mirror stay curves downwardlyalong the inside surface of the windshield to support a rearview mirrorassembly in viewing position below the top edge of the windshield.

[0080] Prior to mounting mirror stay 202 on the vehicle in the mannerdescribed above, a wire harness 140′, similar in all respects to wireharness 140, is inserted through an aperture in header mounting area 224such that electrical wiring 26′ and connector 28′ extend therefrom andthrough base member 214 for connection to the vehicle electrical system.A circuit board 142′, including LEDs or other light sources 144′ andphoto sensor 148′, extends below the mirror stay such that electricalwiring 30′ and connector 32′ are positioned adjacent the lower portion222 of the mirror stay. Housing 206 is connected to circuit board 142′in a manner similar to that in assembly 10 and includes an informationdisplay portion 242 including a display element 244 which is fittedtherein or insert molded when housing 206 is formed preferably byinjection molding. As shown in FIG. 13, information display portion 242is generally oval or elliptically shaped and is adapted to fit overprojection 230 and secure circuit board 142′ between a series ofinternal walls 246 (FIG. 14) and the projection 230. Curving downwardlyfrom information display portion 242 is a hollow skirt 248 having arecess 250 in its outer surface and a pair of converging side edges 252,254 which form a hollow interior 256 through which electrical wiring 30′extends to the lower portion 222 of the mirror stay. A screw receivingaperture 258 extends through recess 250 for receipt of fastener 208 tosecure housing 206 on the front surface of mirror stay 202 with wireharness 140′ therebetween. Accordingly, when housing 206 is secured tomirror stay 202 with fastener 208, electrical wiring 26′ and 30′ extendthrough the interior space 256 and project upwardly for connection tothe vehicle and downwardly for connection to the rearview mirrorassembly when mounted on ball member 204 but are concealed from viewfrom the vehicle occupants by the housing. Wire harness 140′, circuitboard 142′, light sources 144′ and photo sensor 148′ operate in a mannerlike that described above for wire harness 140 to provide backlitillumination of indicia formed on display element 244. Alternately,other displays as described above could be used in housing 206.

[0081] In the event assembly 200 is impacted by a vehicle occupant suchas during an accident, force applied to housing 206, mirror stay 202 orany rearview mirror mounted thereon will create a pivot action pullingscrew 238 through flanges 237 of spring washer clip 236 allowing releaseof the entire assembly including mirror stay 202 and housing 206 frombase member 214.

[0082] The rearview mirror support and information display assembly 10,200, or the rearview mirror attached thereto, or any rearview mirrorassembly in the vehicle, may also incorporate an in-vehicle trainapproach warning system. Such a train approach warning system alerts thedriver of a vehicle of the imminent arrival of a train at arailroad-highway crossing. Such a warning system can activate audibleand/or visual alarms in the vehicle if a train is approaching. A hazardwarning is preferably displayed at the interior mirror (optionally,also/or at an exterior mirror), most preferably at the rearview supportand information display assembly of this present invention. Such trainwarning display may override any existing display so that the driver isfully alerted to any potential hazard. Vehicle-to-roadside communicationantennas (such as are available from 3M Corp. of St. Paul, Minn.) can beattached to railroad signs, crossing barriers, and the like, and cantransmit to antennas mounted on the vehicle (located such as withinassembly 10, 200, within, on or at an interior mirror assembly, aninterior cabin trim item, or an exterior sideview mirror assembly). Atrackside communications system is available from Dynamic Vehicle SafetySystems of Amarillo, Tex. that detects signals from a train approachinga crossing, and transmits these to such as a sign along the road thatforewarns of a railroad crossing ahead. The sign then sends a signal tothe receiver unit (located at, within, or on the interior rearviewmirror assembly, for example) in the vehicle, which in turn activates awarning such as at display 22 in assembly 10, 200, or at rearview mirror12.

[0083] The rearview mirror support and information display assembly 10,200, or the rearview mirror 12, or any rearview mirror assembly in thevehicle, such as the interior rearview mirror assembly, may alsoincorporate a vehicle tracking unit which tracks where a vehicle islocated, and is thus useful should the vehicle be stolen, or should thedriver need emergency assistance at a remote location whose address isunknown to the driver. Such a system is available from ATX Technologiesof San Antonio, Tex. and uses global positioning satellites and cellularcommunications to pinpoint the location of the vehicle. Assistance canbe rendered by the ATX supplied unit (known as an On-Guard Tracker (TM)unit) on how to handle emergency situations, direction can be rendered,remote unlocking of door locks can be achieved if the owner's keys aremisplaced or locked in the vehicle. Messages (such as e-mail messages,hazard warning messages, vehicle status messages, page messages, etc.)can be displayed at display 22 or at the interior mirror assembly, wherethe driver is always regularly looking as part and parcel of the normaldriving task.

[0084] It is also possible to incorporate low level console orinstrumentation lighting for vehicles in assemblies 10, 200 by fitting alow level, non-incandescent, light emitting light source such as a lightemitting diode on assemblies 10, 200 for illumination of instrumentpanel or console areas as disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No.5,671,996, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein. A variety of emitting sources may be used as the light emittingsource, including, but not limited to, very high intensity amber andreddish-orange light emitting diode (LED) sources, such as solid statelight emitting diode LED sources utilizing double heterojunctionAIGaAs/GaAs material technology, such as very high intensity red LEDlamps T-1¾(5 mm) HLMP-4100/4101, available from Hewlett PackardCorporation, Palo Alto, Calif., or which use transparent substratealuminum indium gallium phosphide (AlInGaP) material technology,commercially available from Hewlett Packard Corporation, Palo Alto,Calif. under the designation T-1¾(5 mm) HLMT-DL00, HLMT-CH00, HLMT-CL00,HLMT-CH15, HLMT-CL15 and HLMT-DH00, or which use InCaAlP materialtechnology available from Toshiba Corporation of Latham, N.Y., such asunder the designation TLRH180D. Light emittance colors provided by suchsolid-state sources include orange, yellow, amber, red andreddish-orange, desirably without need of ancillary spectral filters.The preferred solid-state light emitting diodes, at 25° C. orthereabouts, operate at a forward voltage of about 2 volts to about 5volts; have a luminous intensity (measured at the peak of the spacialradiation pattern which may not be aligned with the mechanical axis ofthe source package) of a minimum, at 20 mA current, of about 500 toabout 5000 mcd (typical, about 700 to about 7000 mcd); operate at aforward current of about 20 mA to about 50 mA; emit with a dominantwavelength (CIE Chromaticity Diagram) of about 530 nm to about 680 μm;and have a viewing angle 2Θ_(½)(where Θ_(½)is the off-axis angle wherethe luminous intensity is one half the peak intensity) of about 5degrees to about 25 degrees.

[0085] The LED source preferably has a well-defined light pattern, suchas a cone of directed, low level light which eliminates the need forreflectors or other separate optical components to direct the lightwhere desired is preferably mounted on or within the mirror case 12, orthe mirror support 10 and positioned to direct light at the desired areaof the vehicle interior, e.g., the instrument panel or console area, andgenerates low heat while having an extremely long and durable life whichtypically will outlast the operational life of the rearview mirrorassembly and the vehicle on which it is mounted. If mounted on or withinmirror support 10, the LED source may be fixed to illuminate apredetermined location within the interior cabin. The small size of thelight emitting source, which preferably has a cross-sectional area lessthan about 4 cm², and more preferably less than about 1 cm², allows itto be easily positioned within the confined spaces of the rearviewmirror assembly or mirror support. Because of their durability, thesesources require little or no maintenance or repair thereby eliminatingconcern for access after the mirror assembly or mirror support ismanufactured. The HLMT-DL00 diode from Hewlett Packard is available witha generally circular area of about 0.3 cm² and requires only 20 mAcurrent for operation and provides a 23° cone of directed light with adominant amber color of a typical dominant wavelength of approximately590 μm, and a typical intensity of 1500 millicandela (mcd). Preferably,a resistor of about 450 ohms to about 500 ohms, typically about 470ohms, is connected in series with the preferred LED, with theignition/battery voltage of the vehicle being directly applied acrosstheir series connection. Other colors such as green, orange, yellow, redand blue may be also be obtained depending on the elemental compositionof the diode or other light emitting source selected. Separate filtersare not required to produce the colors. The low level illuminationprovided by the light emitting diode preferably has a maximum of about0.2 to 0.4 lux at a distance of between about 22 and 26 inches atcurrent of about 20 mA to about 50 mA at about 2.0 volts to about 5.0volts. A resistor is preferably connected in series with the lightemitting diode to act as a voltage divider so as to reduce the ignitionvoltage of the vehicle, which is in the range of 9 to 16 volts(nominally 12 volts), to the desired operating voltage of the lightsource (which typically is in the range of about 1 volt to about 5volts, with about 2 volts to about 4.5 volts most typical for thepreferred solid-state, very high intensity LED sources). The resistorpreferably has a resistance of less than about 1500 ohms and greaterthan about 100 ohms; more preferably less than about 1000 ohms andgreater than about 200 ohms.

[0086] Alternately, white light LEDs can also be used asnon-incandescent light sources in the manner described in U.S. Pat. No.5,671,996. Also, such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,996 above,a plurality of LEDs such as of red emitting, amber emitting, red-amberemitting or white light emitting diodes can be included on the combinedrearview mirror support and information display assembly (and/or on therearview mirror attached thereto) to provide interior lighting, such asmap lighting, for the vehicle. For example, a plurality of at least two(preferably at least four) white light LEDs (or another color such asred, amber or red-amber) can be provided on or in a bottom surface ofthe rearview mirror case and adapted to shine light onto occupants' lapareas in the front seat area for map reading, interior lighting, and thelike. User operable switches to allow occupant activation of suchcombined rearview mirror support and information display assemblymounted and/or rearview mirror mounted LED interior lights can beprovided on the combined assembly, the mirror case or elsewhere, withinthe vehicle interior cabin.

[0087] Referring to FIG. 15, a third embodiment 300 of the inventionincludes rearview mirror assembly 301 having a mirror case 302, with abezel 304 and reflector 306 supported therein, and a rearview mirrorsupport and information display assembly 308, both of which are mountedto a window button 308 a adhered to windshield W by a mounting assembly150′ substantially similar to that in assembly 10. Rearview mirrorsupport and information display assembly 308 includes a support stay310, including ball pivot member 312 for mounting rearview mirrorassembly 301 to windshield button 300 a with mounting assembly 150′. Aswill be more fully described below, assembly 300 may also include one ormore of a plurality of electrical and/or electronic components mountedin or on any one of the components of mirror assembly 301, includingcase 302, bezel 304, reflector 306, support and display assembly 308,windshield button 300 a and/or circuit board within assembly 308. Forexample, the present invention may include those assemblies described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/799,734, entitled “Vehicle BlindSpot Detection and Display System”, invented by Schofield et al. andfiled Feb. 12, 1997, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference. A blind spot detection indicator 314 may bepositioned in reflector 306. Furthermore, mirror assembly 301 mayinclude a variety of vehicle accessories such as a rain sensor 316mounted, for example, on assembly 308. Rain sensor functionality, as iscommonly known in the automotive art, is provided in association with aninterior rearview mirror assembly. Such association includes utilizingan element of the rearview mirror assembly (such as a plastic housingattached, for example, to the mirror channel mount that conventionallyattaches the mirror assembly to a windshield button) to cover awindshield-contacting rain sensor (such as is described in U.S. Pat. No.4,973,844 entitled “Vehicular Moisture Sensor and Mounting ApparatusTherefor”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference), or it may include a non-windshield-contacting rain sensor(such as is described in PCT International Application PCT/US94/05093entitled “Multi-Function Light Sensor For Vehicle”, published as WO94/27262 on Nov. 24, 1994, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein). Also, a mirror mounted video cameracan be used to visually detect the presence of moisture on thewindshield, and actuate the windshield wipers accordingly, such as isdescribed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/621,863,filed Mar. 25, 1996, entitled VEHICLE HEADLIGHT CONTROL USING IMAGINGSENSOR, by Schofield et al., which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein.

[0088] Rearview mirror assembly 301 or assembly 308 may also include oneor more displays 318 which may be mounted on one or more of the assemblycomponents as noted above, including as a display in assembly 308 aboverearview mirror assembly 301 as an option (FIG. 15). In like manner tothe displays in assemblies 10, 200 above, displays 318 may perform asingle display function or multiple display functions, such as providingindication of an additional vehicle function, for example a compassmirror display function, a temperature display function, status ofinflation of tires display function, a passenger air bag disable displayfunction, an automatic rain sensor operation display function, telephonedial information display function, highway status information displayfunction, blind spot indicator display function, or the like. Suchdisplay may be an alpha-numerical display or a multi-pixel display, andmay be fixed or scrolling. Such an automatic rain sensor operationdisplay function may include a display function related to rain sensor316 for both a windshield-contacting and a non-windshield-contactingrain sensor, including, for example, where the circuitry to control rainsensor 316 and other electrical and/or electronic devices, includingelectrochromic dimming circuitry 320 of a variable reflectanceelectrochromic mirror, bulb holders, and switches, are commonly housedin or on rearview mirror assembly 301 and wholly or partially sharecomponents on common circuit board 322. Circuit board 322 may be acarrier member incorporating a circuit member of the type described incopending, commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/918,772, filed Aug. 25, 1997, by DeLine et al., the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Display 318 mayalternate between display functions by a display toggle which may bemanually operated, time-shared, voice-actuated, or under the control ofsome other sensed function, such as a change in direction of the vehicleor the like. Should a rain sensor control circuitry 317 be associatedwith, incorporated in, or coupled to assembly 300, rain sensor controlcircuitry 317, in addition to providing automatic or semi-automaticcontrol over operation of the windshield wipers (on the front and/orrear windshield of the vehicle), may be adapted to control the defoggerfunction to defog condensed vapor on an inner cabin surface of a vehicleglazing (such as the inside surface of the front windshield, such as byoperating a blower fan, heater function, air conditioning function, orthe like), or rain sensor control circuitry 317 may be coupled to asunroof to close the sunroof or any other movable glazing should rainconditions be detected.

[0089] As stated above, it may be advantageous for the rain sensorcontrol circuitry 317 (or any other feature such as a head-lampcontroller, a remote keyless entry receiver, a cellular phone includingits microphone, a vehicle status indicator and the like) to sharecomponents and circuitry with other components and/or control circuitry,for example with an electrochromic mirror function control circuitry andan electrochromic mirror assembly itself. Also, a convenient way tomount a non-windshield-contacting rain sensor such as described inapplication Serial No. PCT/US904/05093 referenced above, is byattachment, such as by snap-on attachment, as a module to the mirrorchannel mount or, in this case, mirror stay 310, such as is described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,576,687 entitled “Mirror Support Bracket,” invented byR. Hook et al. and issued Nov. 19, 1996, the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference herein. Assembly 308 and/or windshieldbutton may optionally be specially adapted to accommodate anon-windshield-mounting rain sensor module. Such mounting as a module isreadily serviceable and attachable to a wide variety of lighted andunlighted interior mirror assemblies (both electrochromic andnon-electrochromic such as prismatic, manually adjusted mirrorassemblies), and can help ensure appropriate alignment of thenon-windshield-mounted variety of rain sensor to the vehicle windshieldinsofar that the module attached to the mirror mount or assembly 308remains fixed whereas the mirror itself, which attaches to assembly 308via a single or double ball joint support, is movable so that the drivercan adjust the field of view. Also, should smoke from cigarettes and thelike be a potential source of interference to the operation of thenon-windshield-contacting rain sensor, then a mirror-attached housingcan be used to shroud the rain sensor unit and shield it from smoke (andother debris). Optionally, such ability to detect presence of cigarettesmoke can be used to enforce a non-smoking ban in vehicles, such as iscommonly requested by rental car fleet operators. Also, when a rainsensor (contacting or non-contacting) is used to activate the wiper onthe rear window (rear blacklight) of the vehicle, the rain sensor may bealternatively packaged and mounted with the CHMSL (center high mountedstop light) stop light assembly commonly mounted on the rear windowglass or close to it. Mounting of the rain sensor with the CHMSL stoplight can be aesthetically appealing and allow sharing ofcomponents/wiring/circuitry.

[0090] As mentioned above, the concepts of this present invention can beused with interior rearview mirrors equipped with a variety of featuresand accessories, such as a home access transmitter 324, a high/low (ordaylight running beam/low) headlamp controller 326, a hands-free phoneattachment 328, a video device 330, such as a video camera, for internalcabin surveillance and/or video telephone function, a remote keylessentry receiver 332, a compass 334, a seat occupancy detection 336, oneor more map reading lights 338, a trip computer 340, an intrusiondetector 342, and the like. Display 318 may also include acompass/temperature and/or clock display, fuel level display, and othervehicle status and other information displays. Again, such features canshare components and circuitry with, for example, electrochromic mirrorcircuitry 320 and other components of assembly 300 so that provision ofthese extra features is economical.

[0091] Placement of video device 330 (FIG. 15) either at, within, or onthe interior rearview mirror assembly (including within or on a moduleattached to a mirror structure such as assembly 308 which attaches tothe windshield button) has numerous advantages. In the illustratedembodiment, video device 330 is located in case 302 and positioned belowreflective element 306. For example, locating video device 330 inrearview mirror assembly 300 provides the video device 330 with anexcellent field of view of the driver and of the interior cabin ingeneral since the rearview mirror is centrally and high mounted. Also,mirror assembly 300 is at a defined distance from the driver so thatfocus of the video device is facilitated. Also, if video device 330 isplaced on a movable portion of mirror assembly 300, for example, onmirror case 302, the normal alignment of mirror reflector 306 relativeto the driver's field of vision rearward can be used to readily alignthe video device 330 to view the head of the driver. Since the videodevice is fixed to the mirror case, normal alignment by the driver ofthe reflector element in the case to properly see out the rear window ofthe vehicle simultaneously aligns the video device, i.e., camera, toview the driver's head, of great benefit in video conferencing and thelike. Since many interior rearview mirrors, such as lighted mirrors, areelectrically serviced, placement of video device 330 at, within, or onthe rearview mirror assembly can be conventionally and economicallyrealized, with common sharing of components and circuitry by, forexample, compass 334 (which may include a flux gate sensor, amagneto-resistive sensor, a magneto-inductive sensor, or amagneto-capacitive sensor), a bulb holder for light 338 or bulbs,switches, an electrical distribution busbar such as a circuit member asshown in U.S. Ser. No. 08/918,772, mentioned above, a display, such asdisplay 318, and electrochromic dimming mirror circuitry 320. Althoughthe driver is likely the principal target and beneficiary of videodevice 330, the lens of video device 330 can be mechanically orelectrically (i.e., via a joystick) adjusted to view otherportions/occupants of the vehicle cabin interior. Alternately, the videodevice's field of view can be voice responsive so that whoever isspeaking in the vehicle is image captured. In this regard, the joystickcontroller that adjusts the position of the reflector on the outsiderearview mirrors can, optionally, be used to adjust the video device 330field of view as well. Preferably, video device 330 is fixedly mountedin the mirror case 302 and connected to a circuit member such as 322with the lens of video device 330 positioned for viewing through bezel304. Alternately, video device 330 may be mounted in assembly 308 abovethe mirror housing (but mechanically attached thereto so the camerafield of vision moves in tandem with movement of the mirror housing).Alternately, video device 330 may be mounted in assembly 308 attached tothe mounting assembly 150′ or on windshield button 300 a (with thecamera lens facing rearward in the vehicle and generally facing thedriver). Video device 330 may comprise a CCD camera or a CMOS basedvideo microchip camera (which may be an active pixel sensor CMOS arrayor a passive pixel sensor CMOS array), such as is described in commonlyowned, co-pending, European Patent Application EP 0 788 947, ApplicationNumber 97105447.3, filed Feb. 25, 1994, published Aug. 13, 1997, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Foroperation at night, the internal cabin of the vehicle may optionally beilluminated with non-visible radiation, such as near-infrared radiation,with video device 330 being responsive to the near-infrared radiation sothat a video telephone call can be conducted even when the interiorcabin is dark to visible light, such as at night.

[0092] Also, video device 330, which is preferably mounted at, within,or on the inner rearview mirror assembly (such as within the mirror case302 or in assembly 308), may be adapted to capture an image of the faceof a potential driver and then, using appropriate image recognitionsoftware, decide whether the driver is authorized to operate the vehicleand, only then, enable the ignition system to allow the motor of thevehicle be started. Use of such a mirror-mounted video device (or adigital still camera) enhances vehicle security and reduces theft.Further, video device 330 may be adapted to monitor the driver whiledriving and, by detection of head droop, eye closure, eye pupil change,or the like, determine whether the driver is becoming drowsy/fallingasleep, and then to activate a warning to the driver to stay alert/wakeup.

[0093] It is beneficial to use a microprocessor to control multiplefunctions within the interior mirror assembly and/or within other areasof the vehicle (such as the header console area), and such as isdescribed in Irish Patent Application Serial No. 970014, entitled “AVehicle Rearview Mirror and A Vehicle Control System Incorporating SuchMirror,” filed Jan. 9, 1997, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein. Such microprocessor can, for example,control the electrochromic dimming function, a compass directiondisplay, an external temperature display, and the like. Some or all ofthe electrical/electronic components can be mounted or included on thecircuit board within support assembly 308 to lighten and improve thevibration response of the supported rearview mirror. For example, a useractuatable switch can be provided that at one push turns on acompass/temperature display, on second push changes the temperaturedisplay to metric units (i.e., to degrees Celsius), on third pushchanges to Imperial units (i.e., degrees Fahrenheit) and on fourth pushturns off the compass/temperature display, with the microprocessorcontrolling the logic of the display. Alternately, a single switchactuation turns on the display in Imperial units, the second actuationchanges it to metric units, and third actuation turns the display off.Further, the displays and functions described herein can find utilityalso on outside rearview mirrors. For example, a transducer 344 whichreceives and/or transmits information to a component of an intelligenthighway system (such as is known in the automotive art) can beincorporated into an interior and/or outside rearview mirror assemblyand, preferably, mounted to common circuit board 322. Thus, for example,a transmitter/receiver 346 for automatic toll booth function could bemounted at/within/on an outside sideview mirror assembly. Preferably,transmitter/receiver 346 is also mounted to common circuit board 322. Adigital display of the toll booth transaction can be displayed bydisplay 318. Optionally, a micro printer 348 may be incorporated withinrearview mirror assembly 300 which can print a receipt or record of thetransaction. In the illustrated embodiment, printer 348 is shown mountedin case 302, but it should be understood, as with most of the othercomponents, that it can be mounted in a variety of locations on mirrorassembly 300, such as in assembly 308. Similarly, for safety andsecurity on the highways, GPS information, state of traffic information,weather information, telephone number information, and the like may bedisplayed and transmitted/received via transducers located at, within,or on an interior rearview mirror assembly, including assembly 308,and/or an outside sideview mirror assembly.

[0094] In like manner, a microprocessor as described above can be usedto control an imaging sensor 374 (FIG. 15), such as a CMOS or CCD basedmicro-chip camera array, which can be incorporated within rearviewmirror assembly 300, or more preferably, mirror support assembly 308, toface forward and sense oncoming headlights or other taillights andadjust the headlights of the controlled vehicle in response to suchsensing as described in copending, commonly assigned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/621,863, filed Mar. 25, 1996, by Schofield etal., entitled VEHICLE HEADLIGHT CONTROL USING IMAGING SENSOR, thedisclosure of which was incorporated by reference herein as noted above.The imaging sensor can divide the scene forward of the controlledvehicle into spatially separated sensing regions, and provide fordifferent exposure periods, while sensing light or the absence of lightin each region.

[0095] Also, interior rearview mirror assembly 300 may optionallyinclude an Internet Interface circuit 350 to provide a link to theWorldwide Web. Circuit 350 may be coupled to a modem/cellular phone orcell phone control panel 352 mounted within the vehicle, and preferably,mounted at, within or on the interior rearview mirror assembly 300,including assembly 308. Thus, the driver or passenger can interact withother road users, can receive/transmit messages including E-mail, canreceive weather and status of highway traffic/conditions, and the like,via a mirror located interface to the INTERNET, and display messagestherefrom at the mirror assembly such as at the support mounted display.

[0096] Further, a trainable garage door opener 354, including auniversal garage door opener such as is available from PrinceCorporation, Holland, Michigan under the tradename HOMELINK™, or atransmitter 356 for a universal home access system which replaces theswitch in a household garage that opens/closes the garage door with asmart switch that is programmable to a household specific code that isof the rolling code type, such as is available from TRW Automotive,Farmington Hills, Mich. under the tradename KWIKLINK™, may be mountedat, within, or on interior mirror assembly 300 (or, if desired, anoutside sideview mirror). Switches to operate such devices (typically upto three separate push type switches, each for a different garagedoor/security gate/household door) can be mounted on mirror assembly300, preferably user actuatable from the front face of the mirror case302 or assembly 308. Preferably, the universal garage door openerHOMELINK™ unit or the universal home access KWIKLINK™ unit is mountedat, within, or on interior rearview mirror assembly 300. Optionally,such a unit could be mounted at, within or on an outside sideview mirrorassembly.

[0097] The KWIKLINK™ Universal Home Access System (which operates on arolling code, such as is commonly known in the home/vehicle securityart) comprises a vehicle mounted transmitter and a receiver located inthe garage. The KWIKLINK™ system is a low-current device that can be,optionally, operated off a battery source, such as a long life lithiumbattery. It is also compact and lightweight as executed on a single-ordouble-sided printed circuit board. The KWIKLINK™ printed circuit boardcan be mounted within the mirror housing (optionally adhered to a shockabsorber comprising a double-sticky tape anti-scatter layer on the rearof the reflector element (prismatic or electrochromic) such as isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,354 entitled “Rear Mirror Assembly”,invented by J. Desmond et al. and issued Nov. 5, 1996, the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein or may be accommodatedwithin and with the detachable module attached to the mirror stay 310 orto the mirror button 300 a. Mounting the KWIKLINK™ unit in a detachablemodule has advantages, particularly for aftermarket supply where abattery operated KWIKLINK™ unit can be supplied within an assembly suchas 308 (with the necessary user actuatable button or buttons mounted onthe assembly and with the battery being readily serviceable either byaccess through a trap door and/or by detaching the assembly from thewindshield). By supplying a battery-operated, stand-alone, snap-on,detachable KWIKLINK™ mirror mount pod, the KWIKLINK™ home access systemcan be readily and economically provided to a broad range of mirrorsincluding non-electrical mirrors such as base prismatic mirrors, andelectrical mirrors such as unlighted and lighted mirrors (includingprismatic and electrochromic types) and electro-optic mirrors, such aselectrochromic mirrors. Further, a solar panel 358 may be installed onassembly 308 for receiving sunlight to recharge the battery. In asimilar fashion, a security monitor such as a pyroelectric intrusiondetector as disclosed in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/720,237 filed Sep. 26, 1996, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein, remote keyless entry receiver, andcompass, as described previously, and the like, may be readily installedin mirror case 302 or assembly 308.

[0098] Assembly 300 may further include a cellular phone 360incorporated into interior mirror assembly 301 with its antenna,optionally, incorporated into the outside sideview mirror assembly orinto inside rearview mirror assembly 300. Such mounting within themirror assemblies has several advantages including that of largelyhiding the cellular phone and antenna from ready view by a potentialthief Furthermore, seat occupancy detector 336 may be coupled to an airbag deployment/disable monitor, which can be located at, within or onthe interior rearview mirror assembly 300. Seat occupancy detector 336may comprise a video microchip or CCD camera seat occupancy detector, anultrasonic detector, a pyroelectric detector, or anyone or more of theircombination. Moreover, where more than one rearview mirror is beingcontrolled or operated, or when several vehicle accessories are linkedto, for example, an electrochromic interior or outside mirror,interconnections can be multiplexed, as is commonly known in theautomotive art. Moreover, where it is desired to display externaloutdoor temperature within the interior cabin of the vehicle, atemperature sensor (such as a thermocouple or thermistor) can be mountedat, within or on an outside sideview mirror assembly (for example, itcan protrude into the slipstream below the lower portion of the sideviewmirror housing in a manner that is aesthetically and styling acceptableto the automakers and to the consumer) and with the temperature sensoroutput connected, directly or by multiplexing to display 318 or aseparate display (such as a vacuum fluorescent display) located in theinterior cabin of the vehicle.

[0099] Preferably, the external temperature display is located at,within or on the interior rearview mirror assembly, optionally incombination with another display function such as a compass display (seeU.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/799,734, entitled “Vehicle BlindSpot Detection System” invented by K. Schofield et al., and filed Feb.12, 1997), or as a stand-alone pod such as assembly 308 as a modulecombined with a mirror support member. Most preferably, the interior andoutside mirror assemblies are supplied by the same supplier, usingjust-in-time sequencing methods, such as is commonly known in theautomotive supply art and as is commonly used such as for supply ofseats to vehicles. Just-in-time and/or sequencing techniques can be usedto supply a specific option (for example, the option of configuring anexternal temperature display with a base prismatic interior mirror, orwith a base electrochromic interior mirror, or with a compass prismaticinterior mirror, or with a compass electrochromic interior mirror) foran individual vehicle as it passes down the vehicle assembly line. Thus,the automaker can offer a wide array of options to a consumer from anoption menu. Should a specific customer select an external temperaturedisplay for a particular vehicle due to be manufactured by an automakerat a particular location on a specific day/hour, then the mirror systemsupplier sends to the vehicle assembly plant, in-sequence and/orjust-in-time, a set of an interior rearview mirror assembly and at leastone outside sideview mirror assembly for that particular vehicle beingproduced that day on the assembly line, and with the outside sideviewmirror equipped with an external temperature sensor and with theinterior rearview mirror assembly or assembly 308 equipped with anexternal temperature display. Such just-in-time, in-sequence supply(which can be used for the incorporation of the various added featuresrecited herein) is facilitated when the vehicle utilized a car areanetwork such as is described in Irish Patent Application No. 970014entitled “A Vehicle Rearview Mirror and A Vehicle Control SystemIncorporating Such Mirror”, application date Jan. 9, 1997, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, or whenmultiplexing is used, such as is disclosed in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 08/679,681 entitled “Vehicle Mirror Digital Network andDynamically Interactive Mirror System”, invented by O'Farrell et al.,and filed Jul. 11, 1996, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedby reference herein. Also, given that an interior electrochromic mirrorcan optionally be equipped with a myriad of features (such as maplights, reverse inhibit line, headlamp activation, external temperaturedisplay, remote keyless entry control, seat occupancy detector such asby ultrasonic, pyroelectric or infrared detection, and the like), it isuseful to equip such assemblies with a standard connector (for example,a 10-pin parallel connector) such as electrical connections forreceiving a plug connector 28 as described above, so that a commonstandard wiring harness can be provided across an automaker's entireproduct range. Naturally, multiplexing within the vehicle can helpalleviate the need for more pins on such a connector, or allow a givenpin or set of pins control more than one function.

[0100] The concepts of this present invention can be further utilized inadded feature interior rearview mirror assemblies including those thatinclude a loudspeaker (such as for a vehicle audio system, radio or thelike, or for a cellular phone including a video cellular phone). Suchloudspeaker may be a high frequency speaker that is mounted at, within,or on the interior rearview mirror assembly 300 (such as within themirror case 302 or assembly 308 and as shown as loudspeaker 362 in FIG.47) and with its audio output, preferably, directed towards the frontwindshield of the vehicle so that the windshield itself at leastpartially reflects the audio output of the speaker (that preferably is atweeter speaker, more preferably is a compact speaker such as about1″×1″×1″ in dimensions or smaller, and most preferably utilizes aneodymium magnet core) back into the interior cabin of the vehicle.Interior rearview mirror assembly 300 may also include a microphone 364and a digital (or a conventional magnetic tape) recorder 366 with itsassociated circuitry 368, which can be used by vehicle occupants torecord messages and the like. Display 318 may be adapted to receivepaging information from a pager 370, which may be incorporated ininterior rearview mirror assembly 300, for example, in assembly 308, andthat displays messages to the driver (preferably via a scrollingdisplay) or to other occupants. Interior rearview mirror assembly 300may include a digital storage device 372, which stores information suchas phone numbers, message reminders, calendar information, and the like,that can, automatically or on demand, display information to the driver.

[0101] The concepts of this present invention can be utilized in avariety of prismatic and electrochromic compass mirrors (both lightedand unlighted mirrors) that display directional information based uponcompass sensor 334 (which may comprise a flux gate sensor, amagneto-responsive sensor, such as an magneto-resistive sensor,magneto-inductive sensor, or a magneto-capacitive sensor, a hall affectsensor, or an equivalent compass sensor). Alternatively, directionalinformation obtained from a geographic positioning system such as aGlobal Positioning System (GPS) as is disclosed in co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 08/569,851, filed Dec. 8, 1995, entitledVEHICLE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM, by O'Farrell et al, the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein, could be used toprovide the compass direction signal for a mirror mounted display. Forinstance, a mirror of this invention could utilize a variable reflectiveelement with an electrochromic solid polymer matrix such as described inco-pending, commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/824,501, filed on Mar. 27, 1997, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference. Compass sensor 334 may be mounted anywhere inthe vehicle and with its directional signal fed to a digital display,for example display 318, (such as a liquid crystal display, a vacuumfluorescent display, or light emitting diode display, an electroluminescent display, or the like) that is mounted at/in/on interiorrearview mirror assembly 300. In another example, compass sensor 334 mayalso be mounted in the dashboard or in the header region close to theroof of the vehicle. Compass sensor 334 may also be mounted at interiorrearview mirror assembly 300 by placement within assembly 308 thatfixedly mounts sensor 334 to windshield button mount 300 a, and as isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,240 to Larson et al. and in U.S. Pat.No. 5,576,687 entitled “Mirror Support Bracket”, referred to above. Inthe illustrated embodiment, however, compass sensor 334 is mountedwithin case 302 of interior mirror assembly 300 along with itsassociated circuitry and any optional map lights (338) and the like.Mounting of compass sensor 334 within the housing of the interior mirrorassembly (as an alternate to placing the compass within assembly 308,which may be fixedly attached to mirror support that typically attachesto the front windshield and bracket) has some advantages. For example,by mounting compass sensor 334 within case 302, additional wiring in thewire harness, which would be required to couple the compass directionalsignals from sensor 334 in assembly 308 to display 318, which ispreferably mounted within case 302 or assembly 308. Such location ofcompass sensor 334 within or at case 302 or assembly 308 of mirrorassembly 300 also means that there is no external evidence of thepresence of the sensor, and, thus, aesthetics are potentially enhanced.Also, such placement of sensor 334 within case 302 of mirror assembly300 (such as schematically shown in FIG. 15) is suitable for headermounted mirrors such as assembly 200 above or as shown in U.S. Pat. No.5,615,857, the reference to which herein incorporated by reference inits entirety. Most preferably, sensor 334 is in the form of anintegrated circuit chip mount (or similar printed circuit boardinsertable form) so that compass sensor 334 can be placed on circuitboard 322 as are preferably the other electrical/electronic componentswithin case 302 of interior mirror assembly 300. By having compasssensor 334 housed within the rearview mirror assembly 300 along with itwholly or partially sharing components, manufacturing and packagingeconomies are realized. Such housing of compass sensor 334 on commonprinted circuit board or circuit member 322 along with the otherelectrical and/or electronic components, for example, any one or moreelectrical or electronic components described in reference to this andearlier embodiments, including any electrochromic dimming circuitry toautomatically dim reflectivity when glare conditions are detected bylight sensors, displays, any bulb holders/switches, microprocessors, andtheir like, further enhances the manufacturing and packaging economies.Since case 302 of mirror assembly 300 is adjustable by the driver toassist his or her needs, a compass sensor 334 within case 302 may have adifferent orientation from one driver to another, which may result in arelatively minor inaccuracy in directional information. Theseinaccuracies, however, are typically unnoticeable and, moreover, may bemitigated by using stabilization means and algorithms, including fuzzylogic, and/or using deviation compensatory means, as are known in thecompass art.

[0102] Further, where compass and compass/temperature displays such asshown in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/799,734, entitled“Vehicle Blind Spot Detection and Display System”, invented by Schofieldet al. and filed Feb. 12, 1997, are used, the front plate over thedisplay 318 may be angled relative to the driver's line of sight(between about 2°to 10° and, most preferably, between about 4° to 8°relative to line of sight), so that any headlight glare incident thereonis reflected away from the driver.

[0103] Referring to FIGS. 16 and 17, a vehicle V having a center line Cis shown including an interior rearview mirror M mounted on the interiorsurface of the front windshield W. When a driver is positioned in thedriver's seat S₁ to operate the vehicle, mirror M is typically angled orcanted to the left (for a left-hand drive vehicle) such that the plane Rof the reflective mirror element housed in housing H of the mirrorassembly M lies at an angle Φ to a plane N which is perpendicular tocenter line C. As shown in FIG. 17, the typical rearview mirroradjustment for various sizes of vehicles drivers is such that angle Φ iswithin the range of between about 15° and 30°and typically at a maximumof about 22° for most drivers (although angle Φ can be greater than 30°or less than 15° but is greater than 0°). In the event a rearview mirrorassembly, such as that shown at M, includes an information display,regardless of whether such display reads out through the reflectivemirror element or through a portion of the case or housing H surroundingthe reflective mirror element, the information will be displayed andemitted obliquely to the forward view of a passenger sitting in theright-hand, forward seat S₂ of the vehicle. As angle Φ of mirror plane Rof rearview mirror assembly M increases from 15°to 22°to 30°, or evenlarger, for shorter drivers who move their driver's seat S₁ forwardly soas to properly reach the steering wheel and engage the operator's pedalson the floor, such information display becomes more and more difficultto see for a passenger seated in passenger seat S₂. Especially forinformation read outs relating to the operation and enablement of thesupplemental occupant restraint systems or air bags on the passengerside, known as the Passenger Side Inflatable Restraint or PSIR(referenced above in connection with FIGS. 2 and 4), the lack ofinformation available to the passenger can be important to thepassenger's awareness of the operation or disablement of the passengerside air bag and, thus, preventing injuries to the passenger in seat S₂.

[0104] As shown in FIGS. 18-20, a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention incorporates an interior rearview mirror assembly 400 whichovercomes the inability for a passenger in the passenger side seat S₂ toread critical information presented in information displays on therearview mirror assembly as the rearview mirror is canted more and moretoward the driver, and especially for smaller size drivers. Rearviewmirror assembly 400 includes a reflective mirror element 402 which maybe of varying types including manually operated, prismatic day/nightmirrors, or electrically operated compass mirrors, or electricallyoperated mirrors including maps/reading lights, or electrically operatedautomatically dimming mirrors (such as those using electrochromic mirrorelements), or memory mirrors such as are described above in connectionwith embodiment 10. Mirror element 402 has a generally planar frontsurface and is supported and housed in a rearview mirror housing or case404 which may be molded therearound from a resinous polymeric materialsuch as polypropylene, nylon, or ABS plastic, or molded for receipt ofthe mirror element 402 therein after manufacture. Mirror housing 404includes a back 406, peripheral sides 408, and a peripheral front edge410 which outlines the periphery of the reflective mirror 402 and may beformed in one piece with housing 404 such as is shown in FIGS. 18-20, ormay be formed as a separately mounted bezel for attachment to theremainder of mirror housing 404 after insertion of reflective element402. At the lower edge of mirror element 402, and at or below peripheraledge 410 at the “chin” of the mirror assembly is a depending or bottomhousing portion 412 including an angled or canted information displayhousing portion 414 which extends or faces more toward the passengerside end of the rearview mirror assembly than the plane R of the frontsurface of mirror element 402, and has an information display element424 lying in plane P (FIG. 20) which extends at an acute angle β toplane R of front mirror surface 402 as measured from the passenger sideend of housing portion 414. Housing portion 414 includes a top surface416, bottom surface 418, end surface 420 and front surface 422. Frontsurface 422 includes information display 424 having a front surfacelying in plane P and which is similar to information display 130described above in conjunction with embodiment 10. In the specificembodiment shown, display 424 is a PSIR indicator advising passengerswithin the vehicle as to the operational status of the passenger sideair bag such as when the air bag is enabled (“on”) ordisabled/suppressed (“off”).

[0105] As shown in FIG. 20, display housing portion 414 is adapted toangle away from plane R of mirror element 402 and toward the passengerin the front passenger seat S₂ at an angle β which is generally matchedto, or is preferably greater than, the typical angle at which rearviewmirror assembly 400 will be angled or canted for use by the driver indriver seat S₁. For example, if the angle Φ selected by the driver forrearview mirror assembly 400 is 22°and plane P of display 424 is at thesame angle β=22° as shown in FIG. 20, then plane P of display 424 willbe positioned normal to the vehicle center line as in plane N in FIG. 16when the assembly is mounted in the vehicle. Should a driver adjust theangle of the mirror assembly such that angle Φ is at less than 22°, suchas 15°, and when the plane P of display 424 is at β=22°, plane P ofdisplay 424 will, thus, be canted toward the passenger in seat S₂. Suchangle of cant will be equal to angle β minus angle Φ. In the aboveexample, where Φ is 15°, and β is 22°, such angle will be +7°such thatdisplay 424 is canted by an angle of 7° beyond plane N which is normalto center line C toward a passenger in seat S₂.

[0106] As shown in FIG. 20B, housing portion 414 could also bepositioned at a greater angle β such as 30°, or lesser angle β such as15°, or smaller, but greater than 0°, depending on the dimensions of thevehicle in which mirror assembly 400 is adapted to be positioned anddepending on the range and size of drivers who will drive that vehicle.When angle β=30°, and angle Φ is 15°, plane P of display 424 will extendat +15°and be canted by an angle of 15°beyond plane N which is normal tocenter line C toward the passenger in seat S₂. However, when angle β isless than angle Φ, plane P of the display will be canted more toward thedriver than the passenger. For example, when angle β=15°and angle Φ is22°, plane P of display 424 will extend at −7° and be canted toward thedriver, but still face more toward the passenger in seat S₂ than itwould if β=0°.

[0107] Accordingly, as will be understood from FIGS. 20 and 20B, shouldthe angle β at which plane P of display element 424 is positioned toequal to angle Φ at which plane R of mirror is positioned by the driver,plane P of information display 424 will lie in plane N (FIG. 16) andface perpendicular or normal to the center line C of the vehicle. Shouldangle β be less than the angle Φ of plane R of mirror 402, informationdisplay 424 will face less than normal to center line C but still facemore toward a passenger in seat S₂ than plane R of the mirror element.However, should angle β be greater than angle Φ, plane P of informationdisplay 424 will be canted or angled more than normal to center line Cand toward the passenger.

[0108] As shown in FIG. 20A, information display 424 may include variousalphanumeric displays or word, symbol or icon displays, such as that forthe PSIR described above. Such indicia may be printed or formed on thefront or rear surface of a display element 424 as described above inconjunction with element 130 in housing 20. As shown in FIG. 20A,element 424 is preferably backlit by a series of light emitting diodes(LEDs) 425 which are preferably mounted in a housing 426 secured to apad 428 having apertures therethrough for passing light from LEDs 425 onthe rear surface of element 424. A variety of backlighting sources couldbe used such as described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,565to William W. Gallmeyer, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedby reference herein. Various light filters may also be used to produce acolored display, such as are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,565.Each of LEDs 425 may be electrically connected through a wire harness orappropriate circuitry contained within rearview mirror assembly 400 andultimately connected to the vehicle electrical system of the vehicle inwhich the mirror assembly is mounted. Preferably, nine LEDs would beused in the housing 426 to illuminate the PSIR indicia as shown in FIGS.18 and 19. The indicia preferably are bright (such as white) letters,icons or markings on a dark background, and are preferably imprinted onthe rear surface of element 424. Preferably, LEDs emitting green light,such as those available from Siemens Components Inc., Optel ElectronicsDivision, of Cupertino, Calif., under Part No. P-LCC-2/LPT 672-N wouldbe used to illuminate the words “passenger air bag” and the air bagsymbol, while other LEDs emitting amber light, such as are availablefrom Hewlett-Packard Corporation of Palo Also, Calif. as high intensityLEDs under Part No. HPXR-5000 Series Automotive High Flux SMT, would bepositioned behind the words “on” and “off”. Thus, five green LEDs may beused to illuminate the words “passenger air bag” and the air bag symbol,and four amber LEDs would be provided for the words “on” and “off”, twoLEDs for each of those words. In the operation of the informationdisplay 424 during the day, only two of the amber LEDs would be operatedby the control circuit so as to always illuminate either “on” or “off”.However, at night, the five green LEDs would be operated, along with twoof the amber LEDs to indicate the status of the PSIR. Alternately, blueemitting, red emitting or white light emitting LEDs can also be used.Further, non-incandescent light sources such as electroluminescent lightsources (both organic and inorganic), and electrophosphorescent lightsources can also be used. The light intensity of the light sources (suchas LEDs 425) is controlled depending on whether the vehicle is beingoperated in day or night conditions, such as via the sensors describedabove in connection with display 130. Preferably, a day time intensityof the image display of about 1000 candle power (cd/m²), or greater,could be used, and more preferably about 300 to 400 candle power. Innight conditions, a candle power of 1 to 2 cd/m², or lower, would bepreferred, with the most preferred candle power of 1 to 10 cd/m² beingprovided.

[0109] It is preferred that the letters in the information display 424be provided in a high contrast ratio against the dark background for theindicia, such as white on black, or the like. Display 424 can beautomatically dimmed via sensors as noted above, or pulse-widthmodulated from an electrical connection to the displays or instrumentson the instrument panel in the vehicle. Appropriate circuitry in acircuit board contained within rearview mirror assembly 400 or mirrorsupports 10, 200 or 300 is provided, such that the intensity of thedisplay could be slaved to the instrument panel or displays, the inputfrequency controlled and the like. Alternately, display 424 could beconnected to a rheostat for manual control of the light intensity of thedisplay. A second information display 430 of the type described belowfor embodiments 475, 500, 525 and 550 can also be provided in the fieldof view for reflective element 402 and provide compass heading,temperature, or other vehicle information.

[0110] As also shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, information display 424 canextend and wrap around onto the peripheral side 408 of mirror assembly400 for better viewing by the passenger seated in the front passengerseat S₂. In addition, as shown in FIG. 19, the display can wrap aroundto the bottom edge 418 of housing portion 414 if desired, as shown bythe dotted line. This would enable smaller persons in the passenger seatS₂ to look upwardly at the bottom and end surface of the mirror assemblywhen assembly 400 is canted toward the driver while still enabling thepassenger to read and understand the information on the display. Inaddition, as shown in embodiment 435 in FIG. 21, information display 424a could also be positioned above the reflective mirror element 402 a inthe “eyebrow” 436 of the front peripheral edge 410 a, again canted orangled toward the passenger in seat S₂ in a manner similar to housingportion 414. Further, as shown in embodiment 440 in FIG. 22, informationdisplay 424 b can be positioned in the passenger end 408 b of the mirrorhousing, again preferably angled or canted toward and facing thepassenger in seat S₂. In the event the rearview mirror assembly isdesigned for a right-hand drive vehicle, the position of housing portion414, either in the chin area below element 402 or the eyebrow area aboveelement 402, can be symmetrically reversed such that it is canted towardthe left end of the mirror assembly which, with a right-hand drivevehicle, would thus face more toward front passenger seat. Similarly,display 424 b can be positioned in the housing end opposite that shownin FIG. 22 for right-hand drive vehicles.

[0111] As shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, an alternate embodiment 450 of thepresent invention is similar to that shown in FIGS. 18-20, except thatinformation display 424 c is recessed at the peripheral edge and in thechin area 412 c of mirror housing 404 c below the reflective mirrorelement 402 c. Again, just as in embodiment 400, the information display424 c is angled or canted toward the passenger side end of the rearviewmirror assembly which, in this case, is on the right-hand side of thevehicle so as to enable better viewing by the passenger in passengerseat S₂. As in embodiment 400, display 424 c is preferably backlit viaLEDs 425 c contained in a housing 426 c positioned on apertured pad 428c behind the surface of element 424 c, all in accord with the lightingassembly described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,565 incorporated by referenceabove.

[0112] In the event it is desired to include the PSIR informationdisplay in the reflective mirror element itself, embodiment 475 of therearview mirror assembly can be used as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. Inthis version, an information display 476 is provided by forming anelongated, non-reflective coated area on the back of reflective mirrorelement 478 which is supported within molded rearview mirror housing480. Alternately, a through-the-cell display in an electro-optic mirrorcell can be used, as described in commonly-assigned, U.S. Pat. No.5,530,240 to Larson et al., the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein. Again, display area 476 is preferablydark or opaque with white or light colored letters, in this caseproviding a PSIR message. As in embodiments 400, 450, the display ispreferably backlit with a lighting assembly as described in U.S. Pat.No. 4,882,565 incorporated by reference above, including a housing 482,mounted on apertured pad 484 utilizing a series of light emitting diodes486 connected electrically to the circuitry within the mirror assemblyand then to the electrical system of the vehicle in which the mirrorassembly is mounted. In this case, information display 476 is in theupper right-hand corner of reflective mirror element 478 so as tominimize any disruption of the rearward vision of the driver using themirror assembly.

[0113] Further embodiments of the present invention are shown in FIGS.27-29. In FIG. 27, rearview mirror assembly 500 includes a PSIRinformation display 502 in accord with those described above inembodiments 400, 450 and 475 but positioned in the chin area of therearview mirror housing below reflective mirror element 504. Inaddition, a compass read out 506 similar to display 430 or 476 above isprovided in the upper right-hand corner of the reflective mirror elementsuch that other vehicle information such as the compass heading, outsidetemperature, engine status, or the like can be indicated.

[0114] In FIG. 28, mirror assembly embodiment 525 includes a PSIRinformation read out 526 in the upper right-hand corner of reflectivemirror element 528 just as in embodiment 475. Also, included is acompass and outside temperature read out information display 530 in thechin area of the housing below the reflective mirror element 528.

[0115] In FIG. 29, a PSIR information read out 554 is provided in thelower, central margin of the reflective mirror element 552 adjacent thebottom portion peripheral front edge 558 on mirror housing 556. Again,this position minimizes disruption of the rearview vision of the driverusing the mirror.

[0116] In each of the embodiments 500, 525, and 550, informationdisplays 502, 506, 526, 530 and 554 are preferably dark areas with lightlettering, and backlit using backlighting assemblies as described aboveand in accord with those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,565incorporated by reference above. It will also be understood, that eachof the rearview mirror embodiments 400, 450, 475, 500, 525 and 550 maybe adjustably supported by and used in conjunction with a rearviewmirror support and information display such as that described above inconjunction with embodiments 10, 200, or 300, so as to provide multipleinformation displays visible by the driver and passenger in accord withthe invention. It will be understood that, if desired, an informationdisplay in support 10, 200, or 300 can be angled or canted toward thepassenger or driver at angles such as those described above in FIGS.16-29, if desired. Also, similar information displays can be provided onseparate pods secured to the rearview mirror support on the vehiclewindshield as described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,708,410 toBlank et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference herein, and such information displays can also be angled orcanted toward the passenger or driver at angles such as those describedabove in FIGS. 16-29 for better viewing.

[0117] While several forms of the invention have been shown anddescribed, other forms will now be apparent to those skilled in the art.Therefore, it will be understood that the embodiments shown in thedrawings and described above are merely for illustrative purposes, andare not intended to limit the scope of the invention which is defined bythe claims which follow as interpreted under the principles of patentlaw including the doctrine of equivalents.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are as follows:
 1. A rearview mirror assembly forvehicles, said assembly comprising a rearview mirror and a support formounting said assembly on a vehicle; said rearview mirror having adriver side end and a passenger side end, said driver side end adaptedto be closer to the position of the vehicle driver when said rearviewmirror is mounted in a vehicle on said support, said passenger side endadapted to be closer to the position of a front seat passenger in thevehicle when said rearview mirror is mounted in the vehicle on saidsupport, said rearview mirror including a reflective mirror elementhaving a front surface which lies in a mirror plane and faces theinterior of the vehicle, and a housing for said mirror element, saidhousing being adjustably mounted to said support, said housing includinga back portion facing away from the vehicle interior, end portions, anda front portion facing the vehicle interior; said assembly alsoincluding an information display providing information to an occupant ofthe vehicle and having a display plane, said display plane being at anangle to said mirror plane to provide improved visibility of saiddisplay by a front seat passenger in the vehicle when said assembly ismounted on the vehicle.
 2. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 1wherein said display is included on said front portion of said housing.3. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 2 wherein said front portion ofsaid housing includes a peripheral edge; said display being positionedat said peripheral edge of said housing.
 4. The rearview mirror assemblyof claim 3 wherein said display at said peripheral edge is positionedbelow said reflective mirror element.
 5. The rearview mirror assembly ofclaim 3 wherein said display at said peripheral edge is positioned abovesaid reflective mirror element.
 6. The rearview mirror assembly of claim3 wherein said display is recessed within said housing.
 7. The rearviewmirror assembly of claim 2 wherein said display protrudes away from saidhousing.
 8. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 1 wherein said displayincludes a display element having indicia thereon and at least one lightsource mounted behind said display element for backlighting saidindicia.
 9. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 8 wherein said lightsource is selected from the group consisting of a light emitting diode,an electroluminescent light source, and an electrophosphorescent lightsource.
 10. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 1 wherein saidinformation display is on a portion of said housing; said reflectivemirror element including a second information display formed as anon-reflective portion within the field of view of said reflectivemirror element.
 11. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 10 includingindicia on said second information display and at least one light sourcemounted behind said second display for backlighting said indiciathereon.
 12. The rearview mirror assembly of claim 1 wherein saiddisplay is included on one of said end portions of said housing.
 13. Therearview mirror assembly of claim 1 wherein said angle of said displayplane to said mirror plane is within the range of about 15°and 30°. 14.The rearview mirror assembly of claim 13 wherein said angle of saiddisplay plane to said mirror plane is greater than 30°.
 15. The rearviewmirror assembly of claim 13 wherein said angle of said display plane tosaid mirror plane is less than 15°but greater than 0°.
 16. A rearviewmirror assembly for vehicles, said assembly having a driver side end anda passenger side end, said driver side end adapted to be closer to theposition of the vehicle driver when said assembly is mounted in avehicle on a mirror support, said passenger side end adapted to becloser to the position of a front seat passenger in the vehicle whensaid assembly is mounted in the vehicle, said assembly comprising: areflective mirror element having a front surface which lies in a mirrorplane and faces the interior of the vehicle; a housing for supportingsaid mirror element, said housing adapted to be adjustably mounted to asupport to be mounted on a vehicle portion, said housing including aback portion facing away from the vehicle interior, end portions, and afront portion facing the vehicle interior; and an information displayproviding information to an occupant of the vehicle and having a displayplane, said display being included on said front portion of saidhousing, said display plane being at an angle to said mirror plane toprovide improved visibility of said display by a front seat passenger inthe vehicle.
 17. A rearview mirror assembly for vehicles, said assemblyhaving a driver side end and a passenger side end, said driver side endadapted to be closer to the position of the vehicle driver when saidassembly is mounted in a vehicle on a mirror support, said passengerside end adapted to be closer to the position of a front seat passengerin the vehicle when said assembly is mounted in the vehicle, saidassembly comprising: a reflective mirror element having a front surfacewhich lies in a mirror plane and faces the interior of the vehicle; ahousing for supporting said mirror element, said housing adapted to beadjustably mounted to a support to be mounted on a vehicle portion, saidhousing including a back portion facing away from the vehicle interior,end portions, and a front portion facing the vehicle interior; and aninformation display providing information to an occupant of the vehicle,said display being included on one end portion of said housing, said oneend portion facing the position of a front seat passenger for improvedvisibility of said display by said passenger.